Both Team SA’s men’s and women’s table tennis players are through to Thursday’s knockout stages of the team event at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be contested on Thursday, with the team finals on Friday.
The women’s trio of Danisha Patel, Mustfiquh Kalam and Lailaa Edwards were all comfortable winners over Angola, clinching their victory and only dropping two sets in the process. They then won through to the quarter-finals via a walkover win at the expense of the DR Congo.
The men’s team of Luke Abrahams, Liam Beukes and Chetan Nathoo beat Congo, also by walkover, before the came up against Uganda. This was an attritional match, with Team SA winning 3-1. That’s not before a couple of titanic struggles. Luke Abrahams was stretched to the maximum in five sapping sets, while Chetan Nathoo also had to work for five sets before getting the better of his opponent.
On Thursday Team SA’s women will meet African Games hosts Ghana and the men take on Tunisia at 10am local time (12 noon), with the semi-finals scheduled for 4pm (6pm SA time)
RESULTS
Women’s team, group 2:
South Africa 3 Angola 0
Danisha Patel bt Isabel Albino 3-0 (11-5 11-5 11-7)
Mustfiquh Kalam bt Ruth Tavares 3-1 (12-10. 11-1, 9-11, 11-4)
Lailaa Edwards bt Kailane Sousa 3-1 (11-2 11-7 7-11 11-9)
Women’s team, group 2
South Africa 3 DR Congo w/o
Men’s team, round 4
South Africa 3 Congo 0 w/o
Men’s team, round 3, group 4
South Africa 3 Uganda 1
Luke Abrahams bt Samuel Ankunda 3-2 (6-11, 23-21, 11-6, 9-11, 14-12)
Chetan Nathoo bt Johanathan Senyonga 3-2 (11-6 7-11 11-9 9-11 11-9)
Codewyk Cowen lost to Joseph Sebatindira 1-3 (9-11 7-11 11-4 4-11)
Luke Abrahams bt Jonathan Senyonga 3-1 (13-11 11-9 11-13 11-3)
Picture by Frennie Shivambu in Accra
